Respect
by GlamaHart32
Summary: Respect is all that he wanted from the people he worked with. One tweet from a childhood hero inspires him to try and revive a dying division. Will he help a certain Diva gain respect from the boss and her boyfriend?
1. Chapter 1

Respect; that was all he ever wanted to achieve from his peers, but they just didn't seem to care all that much about respect anymore. He was the WWE Champion, yet the company was treating him like he was some mid-card talent and were letting their golden boy, John Cena, hog the spotlight. He wasn't the only one not being utilized to their highest potential. Many a times has he seen Divas get completely forgotten on the main shows and just thrown in lackadaisically onto the Pay-Per View cards. He was tired of the disrespect he, and everyone else, was getting but when he finally speaks up about it, like he has done in the past, he gets criticized for it. The fighting with commentators like Jerry 'The King' Lawler, getting called out on Twitter by fellow SuperStars and Divas was really starting to tick him off. It wasn't until August 19th at 11:34pm, that he felt like what he was doing was right. That was when one of his childhood idols, Bret 'The Hitman' Hart, tweeted that he held respect for the Chicago Made Punk.

After seeing that particular tweet from Bret, Punk felt like he should do something worth remembering. With the tag team division slowly on the rise, that barely left any time for the Divas. Now knowing what he was going to do, he needed to make a plan to get things pushed and into motion. His first thought was who would be the lucky Diva that would ultimately get the push she deserved? Thinking quickly to what his peers have said over time, Punk's mind raced. Randy Orton had been pretty vocal about a certain third generation Diva and John Cena had been impressed with a certain Glamazon ever since she out lifted him in the gym a few weeks earlier. Beth Phoenix and Natalya both screamed epitome of women's wrestling and they were both floundering by constantly jobbing to the lesser talents such as Alicia Fox, Aksana, and even, to Punk's chagrin, Kelly Kelly.

It was decided who's career he was going to help jump start again. Maybe he was being a little biased based on his childhood hero, but he didn't give a rat's ass. The luck Diva was Bret Hart's niece, Natalya. He has always been impressed with the Dungeon Diva's ring-skills, and she really grabbed his attention when she was defending the Divas Championship on Monday Night Raw when he was a commentator. The way that she used her power to get out of Melina's submission attempt and ultimately the way Natalya bent her opponent like a pretzel in the Sharpshooter really added up points of respect in Punk's book.

There was that dreaded word again: respect. If he wasn't going to get the respect of his fellow Superstars, by god he was going to help someone else earn respect. And what better way to do that than to help out the Divas division? After deciding that he was going to help out Natalya, he headed out to find her. Walking down the hallways looking for the Divas locker room, he gave up after five minutes of not being able to find it. Heading back towards his own locker room, he passed the Gorilla, and there was the Glamazon Beth Phoenix warming up for her match that was next. Swallowing his pride and putting the past aside for a few minutes, he cautiously walked over to her.

"Hey Beth, can I ask you a question?"

"You just did." She replied without looking up at him; she was too focused on her side lunges.

"Very funny, anyway, I was looking for Natalya but I have no clue where the Divas locker room is, can you tell me?"

"Why do you need to talk to Natalya? If you don't remember, she has a boyfriend, so it's not like she's going to use you to get ahead in the company like I supposedly did."

"Jesus Beth, I apologized a thousand times. I'm sorry that I listened to what Vickie and the other jealous Divas were saying about you and the fact that I didn't give you a chance to explain. Besides, it's not like I'm going to be asking her out anyway, I just need to discuss something with her."

"Fine, out locker room is down that hall over there and fourth door on the right side." Beth said as she pointed towards the hallway he just came from.

"Alright thanks Beth."

"You're welcome but she won't be in there!"

Punk swung his body back around and marched over to Beth again, only this time he squatted down to her level. He was slightly annoyed and just glared at her through slits.

"And why wouldn't she be in there? Didn't she just tape her match against Layla for SuperStars?"

"Yes, but as soon as she got backstage, Tyson was waiting for her and pulled her away. So after some deductive reasoning, I am going to guess that she is still with him in his locker room. Now if you don't mind, I have to go and make a Diva cry, and then ultimately lose the match…again." Beth said as she stood up to her full height and began to walk away.

"Wait, where is his locker room?"

"Seriously Phil?! Its three doors down from your own. Maybe you would have known that had your head been stuck so far up your own ass!"

Before he had a chance to retort, she was making her way out onto the stage. Shaking his head, he made his way back to his locker room. As he approached, he slowed down upon hearing a woman and man yelling at each other. Nearing closer, he recognized the voices; they belonged to Natalya and her boyfriend Tyson Kidd. Keeping a safe distance from the door, he settled in to listen.

"You can't be serious about this Natalya!"

"And why the hell not? I deserve to do much more within this company rather than to walk your ass out to the ring and be eye candy in spandex every night. In case you have forgotten, I'm a wrestler too."

"Yeah and where has that gotten you? You have only been pushed twice in your career. The first time being when they were having a tournament to crown the first ever Divas Champion. Yeah you made it to the finals, but you tapped out to fucking Michelle McCool. Then the second time, you had to put up with Michelle and Layla's bullshit for almost three months before you captured the belt. Then what happened?"

When she didn't respond, he knew that he had made his point.

"You dropped it less than three months later in a Fatal Four Way to Eve. Fucking Eve Torres of all people! How could you let that happen?"

"It's not like I had a fucking choice in the matter Tyson! That was the way creative set me up to lose it. I never expected to be discarded like a no talent bimbo and end up jobbing to make these bimbos look good."

"Then what is the problem with you accompanying Justin and I to the ring? I mean, come on, you did that all the time when I was tagging with Harry, so what's different now?"

"Because Harry isn't here anymore! No offense to Justin or anything, but when Harry was in the group with us, he supported me and not just because he was my cousin. He supported me because he believed in me as a wrestler too. Why can't you do the same?"

"Because you have garnered yourself no respect from the other Divas and, hell, you haven't even been proved your worth to Vince. Until you do, I insist you stay as Justin and I's manager."

"Then how the hell am I supposed to prove my worth to anyone in the god forsaken company if no one gives me a fucking chance?!" Natalya yelled out in desperation.

Punk had heard enough of Tyson berating his girlfriend and fellow wrestler. Pushing himself off the concrete wall where he had stationed himself, he walked over to the door and knocked rather loudly.


	2. Chapter 2

"Are you expecting someone?" Tyson whispered before he made his way to the door.

"No, Beth has a match right now, which I should be watching instead of arguing with you."

Finally the door was opened the rest of the way, and Tyson and Natalya were both surprised to see Punk standing there. When no one made a move to talk, Punk took his chance.

"Hey Nattie, can I talk to you for a second?"

Still nothing; her face seemed frozen in surprise. It was no secret that she had taken Beth's side when everything between her and Punk went down and that was something that he had liked about her; she never left her friend's side.

"Anything to have to talk to her about, you can say it in front of me." Tyson said with an overprotective tone set in his voice.

"Okay, Natalya, I had this strange idea that I'm getting ready to pitch to Vince right now. Instead of having the same old Punk vs. John Cena as the main event tonight, I was thinking about a mixed tag team match. I've already talked with Cena and he agreed, all that I have to do now is find a partner and then we all talk to Vince."

"So why are you bringing this up? She is a manager not a wrestler now."

"Is this true Natalya? That was why I came to you, I was going to ask you to be my partner, but if you are just strictly a manager now I've just wasted your time." Punk said as he turned to leave and counted to three.

"Wait! I would love to be your partner! When is the match?"

"That's great, and it's right after…"

"What? No, Natalya you have to walk Justin and me out to the ring next. You don't have time to do both since the main even is after our match."

"…the tag team tournament match that is after the Divas match." Punk finished.

"You know what Tyson; I am so overly sick and tired of you constantly putting me down. As my boyfriend of over ten years, you should be more supportive of me. I went through the same dungeon you did and it instilled a lot of confidence, as well as other things within me. It taught me not to take shit from anyone, anytime or anywhere."

"Where are you going with this Natalya?"

"See, there it is again! Here I am trying to express myself to you and you could care less." Natalya yelled right in Tyson's face, but took a step back to try to compose herself and so she wouldn't slap the ever living shit out of Tyson.

"Where I was going with all of this is, Tyson I am done with being your eye candy ringside. I am done with how you treat me when we are around other wrestlers. I am done with everything that has to do with you."

"What are you saying?" Tyson asked, completely oblivious to the situation.

"Dude, she's breaking up with you! How can you not see it?" Punk inserted as he faced Tyson. He couldn't help but to smirk at his pissed off expression.

"Punk is right, I'm sorry Tyson, but you left me with no choice. Punk, I would be more than happy to be your tag team partner." Natalya said after apologizing and confidence returning to her voice as she shoved past Tyson and stopped next to Punk on her way back to the Divas locker room.

"Thanks for this Punk. I really appreciate it." then she continued on.

After watching Natalya walk away, and he couldn't help but stare at her assets as she did so, he turned his attention back to Tyson. Seeing that his facial expression was mixed between pissed off and hurt, Punk just laughed in his face.

"Get the fuck out of my locker room Phil before I kick your ass!" Tyson yelled as he pointed out the door.

"Ha! I would like to see you try, but I have to go find the big boss man to get my match with your girlf-, er I mean your ex-girlfriend official. Good luck in your match tonight." Punk chuckled as he went to hunt Vince down.

"Phil that is a great idea! I've been looking for a creative outlet to get Natalie back in the spotlight, and I think this just may work out!" Vince bellowed with a chuckle.

"Really?! You usually hate my storyline ideas." Punk said with a confused look on his face as he scratched his head.

"You're right, I usually do, but this time it's great. Like I said, I've been itching to have Natalie back in the championship hunt, but creative has not been able to come up with anything. Plus you know as of late, the Divas division has sucked; I'm not going to lie. With Elizabeth on her way out at the end of October, we really have nothing."

"Have you been paying any attention to what people are saying on Twitter about Beth and Natalya?"

"No, what have they been saying?"

"They wanted, and still want to see Beth and Natalya face off. They wanted to see the two of them wrestle for the Divas championship at WrestleMania, but you didn't capitalize on it. Instead, you placed Beth in a tag team match with Eve going up against Kelly Kelly, who can't wrestle or run the ropes to save her life, and, pardon my French but, fucking Maria Menounos! Then to top everything off, you had Kelly pin Beth, the Divas Champion! That's why no one cares about the Divas."

"As much as I hate to say this, you are completely right. That's why for the SmackDown tapings tomorrow night, I'm going to pit Beth versus Natalya and then let the storyline of 'who attacked Kaitlyn' lead to the demise of their friendship. Ultimately what will happen is that for Beth's final match, it will be the two of them facing off in a 'loser leaves WWE' match. How does that sound to you?" Vince asked hopefully.

"Honestly, it's been done before. That's what you had written up for Michelle McCool when she left and it's not the way to let Beth go out."

"Okay, then how do you see her final match playing out?"

"With all past emotions and drama behind, I think that the best way to send Beth off is to have her announce her retirement on Smackdown the week before and then have her face Natalya with Beth coming out on top. Then just let the emotion from the two competitors out. In my opinion, that is the best way to give her the send-off she deserves."

"Phil, you have convinced me. I will have a meeting with Elizabeth and my creative team to crank out her retirement match against Natalie. Good luck in your match with Natalie tonight. This will only lead to better things for her all because of you."

"Thanks Vince, I appreciate your help with all of this. Natalya deserves it."

"That she does, now go on before I change my mind." Vince said as he went back to his usual uninterested demeanor and walked off with a bellowing laugh.


	3. Chapter 3

Punk couldn't help but to laugh at how the situation with his boss just ended. He had started off so receptive to his creative outlets and then dismissed it just like every other time he tried to talk to him. Shaking the thoughts from his head, he went in search of John boy. Surprisingly enough, Punk found John in the Gorilla watching the tag team match. Standing there for a minute to see how the match was going, Punk just beamed. Tyson was getting his ass kicked by none other than Santino. How embarrassing that must be, he couldn't even comprehend. All of the sudden, Zack Ryder took out Justin Gabriel and Santino hit the Cobra for the three second count. Punk just laughed to himself, which in turn caused John to jump at the sound right next to him.

"Sorry John, but that was fucking funny!"

"I guess, but something just seemed off with Tyson tonight. He looked all distraught when he got to the ring like someone told him before he went out there that someone hit his dog."

"Well, it's something like that I guess."

"What the hell did you do now Phil? Don't tell me that it was you who hit his dog."

"I don't even know if that tool has a dog, but that's not the point. I guess you can say that I had something to do with why he was so out of it."

"Come on man, tell me what you did."

"Ha! Natalya broke up with his sorry ass. I went to find her to see if she would be my tag partner for our main event match and when I got to his locker room they were yelling and arguing with each other."

"What were they arguing about this time? It seems like they are always yelling at each other, usually over something really stupid and unimportant."

"This time it wasn't something stupid, it was about Natalya's career. Anyway, from what I heard while NOT eavesdropping, Tyson just wanted her to be a manager from now on instead of a wrestler. I knocked on the door and gave her my proposition and she accepted. He immediately started berating her again and she just snapped. She said that she had enough and just dumped his ass right then and there."

"Well good for her. So she is going to be your partner huh?"

"Yup, who's your partner?" Punk asked out of plain curiosity.

"I was going to ask Beth, but she just had a match. It took me a minute or two to think of another credible Diva who can wrestle, but I finally remembered one."

"Please, dear god, do not tell me that you chose Eve! I don't know if I could put up with her lying and conniving ways tonight."

"Dude, don't worry. After her admitting on live television that she was just using me to further her career, I've had nothing to do with her. So no, it's not Eve; I chose Layla instead."

"Okay I think that this just might work out somehow. When I talked to Vince, it was kind of weird. He actually praised me about coming to him with this idea."

"Really? Was he sick or something?"

"Funny, but no he said he had been looking for a way to get Natalya back in the spotlight. Who would have thunk that he would like this match idea?!""

"I wouldn't have believed it in a million years. I think it's a great idea instead of the same old same old match between you and me."

"Agreed. Now let's do this." Punk said, finally shutting up seeing that the Divas had just arrived and the Tyson was making his way back through the curtain, clutching at his neck.

"Why the long face there Tyson? Cobra got your tongue?" Punk laughed as he prodded, trying to get a reaction out of him.

Surprisingly, Tyson kept his mouth shut and just glared at Punk instead. If only looks could kill. When Tyson laid his eyes on Natalya, who showed no signs of remorse, his eyes went soft. He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off when John's theme song hit.

"Well Layla that is our cue to leave this little get together. Shall we?" John asked as he offered his arm to the British Diva.

"We shall. See you guys out there." She responded with a smile as she linked her arm with his and offered a wave to her opponents.

"Natalya, can we please talk about what happened?" Tyson asked in a pleading manner.

Before Natalya could respond, Punk's theme song hit and just like John did to Layla, he offered his arm to her.

"Shall we?" he asked, mocking John.

The look in her eyes said a thousand words even though she didn't say a single one. She looked as though she was going to give him a chance to explain, but she chose to take Punk's arm. Leading her to the curtain, Punk turned his head to get one last look at Tyson, who's pissed off look had come back all of the sudden. Giving the Canadian a smirk, he walked through the curtain with his ex-girlfriend.

Once out on the stage, he let go of her arm so that he could crouch down like normal. Checking his 'watch' her cupped his hands to his mouth and yelled.

"It's clobberin' time!"

He punched the air just like every time he made his way to the ring. The only thing different this time was that he had Natalya with him. Instead of walking down the ramp backwards, he offered his arm to Natalya again and she took it, hesitating a little bit, worried about how this was going to play out. The crowd was quite confused at the pairing of Natalya and CM Punk, but they went ahead and cheered them on, despite the fact that they were both supposed to be heels.

As the bell rang, Punk started off the match with Cena. They locked up and grappled around for a minute or two before Cena got the upper hand by putting Punk into a headlock. Hitting Cena with several elbows to the gut, he was able to get loose. He ran the ropes and hit his opponent with a hard clothesline that immediately knocked him to the mat. Going for the cover, he ended up with only a two count. Standing back up, Punk started to hit Cena with sharp kicks to the chest and back. Again running the ropes, he went for a shining wizard, but Cena caught his legs and went to lock in the STF. Punk, surprised, wiggled his way over the ropes which cause Cena to have to break the hold. Using the ropes to get back to his feet, he looked up just in time to see Cena's body coming right at him. Moving out of the way at the last second cause Cena to bounce back off the ropes and land with a hard thud to the canvas. This gave Punk room to tag in Natalya.

Entering the ring for the first time, the third generation Diva used all of her strength to get Cena back up to his feet. Once he was on his feet under his own power, she swung her hand back to slap him, only to have him catch her hand. With a shocked expression coming over her, she was scared about what was about to happen. Cena then hauled her up onto his shoulders like he was going to hit the Attitude Adjustment, but was hit with a kick to the gut from Punk instead. Cena dropped Natalya back down onto the canvas on her feet and stumbled back to the side ropes. Landing a dropkick, Punk cause Cena to fall between the ropes and land with a hard thud on the floor on the outside.

Punk then exited the ring to let Natalya grapple with Layla. Getting her wits back in order, Natalya noticed that her opponent wasn't in the ring or even standing on the ring apron. Looking around, she saw that Layla was ringside checking on her partner. Quickly sliding out of the ring, she came up behind the brunette, grabbed a handful of hair and yanked back hard. Letting out a scream of pain, Layla hit the floor just about as hard as Cena did when he went through the ropes. Taking a second to taunt the crowd, Natalya threw her arms up and yelled out her signature "YAY!". Turning her attention back to Layla, she grabbed a handful of hair again and tossed her back into the ring. Layla rolled to the center of the ring and, on wobbly knees, got back to her feet.

As Natalya slid back into the ring and was met with a stiff kick to the ribs. She hollered out in pain as Layla started to stomp on her stomach and kick her. As she went for another kick, Natalya caught her foot and pushed her back, sending Layla flying across the ring. Using the ropes just like Punk did to get back to her feet, Layla charged at her. Quickly utilizing a drop toe hold, Natalya sent her opponent face first into the second turnbuckle. Pulling Layla back by her shorts, she went to roll her up, but thought better of it. Grabbing both of her legs, she crossed them around her right leg and flipped Layla over onto her stomach and leaned back.

Out of the corner of her eye, Natalya saw that Cena was stirring and trying to get back in the ring, but when both knees were on the ring apron; Punk ran around and pulled him back by his belt, sending him crashing back down to the floor below. With a signature laugh, Natalya grinned when she heard the sound of Layla tapping out. Hearing the bell ring, she dropped Layla's legs and kicked her out of the ring where she fell to a heap right next to John. After the referee raised both hers and Punk's hands up in victory, he surprising grabbed her up in a hug and the hoisted her up onto his shoulders. He then grabbed his title and went to all four corners and celebrated with the crowd who loved their heels.


	4. Chapter 4

After their match, Punk offered to take Natalya out for dinner as a way to thank her for being his tag team partner. To his relief, she had agreed and told him that she would meet him in the parking garage next to her rental car in an hour and a half. She offered to drive since Punk had mooched a ride with Cena. Taking an extra-long shower, and taking longer than usual to get ready, he finally headed out to meet with Natalya. Checking the time on his phone, he silently cursed himself because he was running late. Getting a better hold of his duffel bag, he started sprinting to the parking garage, which was fairly easy considering the hallways were practically empty. Finally making it to the garage, he could hear yelling and immediately recognized the voices.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me!" he muttered to himself as he walked towards the sound at a brisk pace.

"You should really be more careful when you are in the ring Natalya; you almost broke Layla's back with that Sharpshooter. See this is why I suggested that you stay as a manager instead of an in-ring competitor. You are just so sloppy with your moves you will end up hurting someone." Tyson said, once again berating her.

Punk noticed that Natalya wasn't even looking at Tyson, instead she was looking down at her shoes, trying not to let the tears fall from her eyes. How could he not see how much he was hurting her? Punk finally made it towards the duo and threw his bags down on the ground near Tyson.

"Excuse me, but do you mind stepping away from my dinner date? It would be greatly appreciated."

Tyson whipped his head around and glared when he realized that it was Punk who had spoken.

"You know what, no. I'm trying to talk to my girlfriend, so if you don't mind just buzzing off."

"Dammit Tyson, I broke up with you remember? That would make me your ex-girlfriend, so you had better get used to saying it." Natalya said finally speaking up, wiping the tears that threatened to make an appearance.

"So you mean to tell me you broke up with me so that you could go out with this homeless looking slime ball?"

"At least this slime ball has some manners when it comes to being around a lady. Now get to leaving before I level your ass out." Punk said as he moved closer to Natalya.

"Oh really? What are you going to do if I do-." Tyson started to say before he was cut off when Punk suddenly decked him square in the nose. The sound of bones breaking was cringe worthy.

"Sonofabitch, you just broke my nose!"

"Is that what that sound was?"

"I'm going to get you back for this Punk, just you wait and see." Tyson hollered as he ran away to find a place to clean up.

"I'll be here waiting!" Punk yelled back as he turned around to look at Natalya.

Before he knew it, she grabbed his face in both of her hands and planted a kiss on his lips. He was taken by surprise, but for some reason didn't want to fight it. He growled inwardly when she pulled away, instantly missing the feeling of her lips on his.

"What was that for?" he asked, his heart was racing faster than it ever had before.

"For many things. For standing up for me with Tyson and for talking to Vince, convincing him that I really can wrestle and look beautiful at the same time."

"You're welcome. Had I known it would get me that kind of response, I probably would have done it a lot sooner!"

"Don't push your luck, we will have to wait and see how dinner goes before I think about doing that again." She said in a seductive manner as she walked to the driver's side and climbed inside.

"God I love my job!" Punk said as he looked upward before placing his bags into the backseat and then taking his spot next to Natalya.


End file.
